National Blog

Red State Socialism in Congress this week

This morning the House of Representatives passed the conference report on the Farm Bill. This 949-page monstrosity (which not made available to members, staffers, or the public until Monday night) is estimated to cost taxpayers almost a trillion dollars over the next nine years. The bill is actually likely to cost more as the cost estimates assume that commodity prices will remain at their current high levels. If, as seems likely, commodity prices fall, the costs of the bill will increase.

Even though both the House and the Senate had voted to limited subsidies for farmers with an Adjusted Gross Income of more than $750,000. The final conference report also forces middle-and-working class taxpayers to subsidies wealthy famers and agribusinesses. In addition, the bill continues to spend taxpayer money on "biofuels," thus putting taxpayers on the hook for future Solyndras. It also continues to spend money on special programs for catfish, sheep, and sushi rice.

While the bill has passed the House, it will not be voted on in the Senate until Thursday or Friday, so Campaign for Liberty members still have time to call their Senators and ask that they oppose this bill.